What Candy Can People With Diabetes Eat And How Much Is Safe?

What Candy Can People With Diabetes Eat and How Much Is Safe?

Think candy is off-limits simply because you have diabetes? Not a chance! “I encourage people with diabetes to remember that a diabetes diet is really just a healthier diet,” says Rainie Carter, RD, CDE, who is in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama. She suggests thinking of candy as a dessert, versus a snack. “Changing that mentality allows people to think about eating candy in smaller portions. We are typically fuller from the meal and therefore eat less candy or sweets than we would have before.”
And you don’t necessarily need to reach for a sugar-free version, which can contain tummy-upsetting sugar alcohols. “Our bodies need carbohydrates throughout the day — and candy can be a delicious, festive, enjoyable source of it on occasion,” says Meg Salvia, RDN, CDE, the owner of Meg Salvia Nutrition in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Just eat the candy in moderation: The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting added sugars, the type of sugar present in candy bars, to less than 10 percent of daily calories. So if you’re having 2,000 calories a day, that would be no more than 200 calories from added sugar (about two fun-size packs of peanut M&M’s). And people with diabetes have other considerations, too — more on those next.
Next time you come across fun-size candy — whether it’s because you bought it yourself, you’re digging through your child’s trick-or-treat bag, you’re hosting a birthday party with a piñata, or you’re rummaging through the office candy bowl — here’s what you need to know about making the best can Continue reading

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Diabetes and Bananas: Are Bananas Good or Bad For diabetics?

Banana, being a rich source of vitamin, potassium, and several other nutrients are considered very healthy. However, the high content of sugar often gives rise the question as to whether the fruit should be consumed by those who suffer from diabetes? It is often very important to take extreme care of your body when you are suffering from diabetes as the disease brings in a lot of other related complications such as a number of cardiovascular diseases as well as diseases related to the kidney. A well maintained and regulated lifestyle, coupled with a healthy diet and physical exercise have always been recommended by the doctors. One such regulation is the inclusion of bananas in the daily diet.
In this article, we try to find out the answer to the above question. We shall delve deep and analyze whether it is safe to eat bananas as a diabetic patient.
Let’s Know Some Facts Related to Bananas
Before we begin our discussion on the relation between diabetes and bananas, we should know a few facts about the fruit. Following are a few facts which might help us to understand the relation between diabetes and bananas:
The fruit is very rich in both sugar and carbohydrates. These elements, in turn, are responsible for raising the blood sugar level in the body, thereby adversely affecting diabetes.
Out of the total calories that banana contains, around 93% of the same is in the form of carbohydrates, which might pose some threat and increase complications in a patient suffering from diabetes.
However, the fiber content of the fruit makes it harmless for a diabetes patient. In fact, Continue reading

Is Watermelon Good or Bad For Diabetics?

Diabetes, as we know, is a very complicated condition leading to a host of complications in patients. Some of the complications relate to the heart, the nervous system, kidneys, and several other parts of the body. The best way to manage the same is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet. It is for this reason that a diabetes patient is always conscious of what he or she is consuming and in what quantity.
In this article, we shall explore the relationship between diabetes and Watermelon. And try to understand that can a diabetic have watermelon or not in regular diet?
Facts Related to Watermelon
To begin with, we need to understand some of the facts that are related to this fruit.
The fruit is rich in a lot of vitamins and minerals, namely, Vitamin A, B-6, C. iron, calcium, and other minerals.
The Glycemic Index of Watermelon is somewhere around 72 per serving of 100 grams.
The fruit is considered to be high on its fiber content. Hence it is recommended as a very healthy snack.
90% of the content is water in Watermelons.
Lycopene is the main ingredient in the fruit from which it derives its color. The pigment is a powerful antioxidant with a number of health benefits.
Health Benefits of Watermelon for Diabetes Patients
How is watermelon good for diabetics? Let us look into some of the health benefits of the fruit when it comes to the diabetes patients:
– One of the effects in diabetes is the feeling of fatigue and extreme tiredness in patients suffering from the condition. This is due to the increase in the levels of blood glucose which hinders the smooth circulation Continue reading

One-third of Mississippi population will have diabetes by 2030, doctor warns

A third of the population of Mississippi will have diabetes by 2030 and need costly care to stay alive, which will have a devastating impact both on them and the state's economy, according to a leading physician.
Dr Richard deShazo at the University of Mississippi medical centre in Jackson, is one of a group of physicians and academics who are trying to warn families about the dangers and consequences of obesity and teach them how to prevent their children gaining weight and damaging their health. Mississippi has long been the state with the highest obesity rate in the United States, dropping only slightly in the latest government survey to second place to Louisiana where 34.7% of the population is now obese, compared with 34.6% in Mississippi. Thirteen states, mostly in the south, have obesity rates of more than 30%.
The situation in Mississippi is dire, said deShazo. “We're going to have about a third of our population with diabetes by 2030. If you look at the economics of that, the downstream disability, it's very difficult to calculate the long-term effects but it's very hard to tell how the state can support itself,” said deShazo. The 2012 “F as in Fat” report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found Mississippi had the highest rate of type 2 diabetes in the US, at 12.3%, based on 2010 figures. At the current rate of increase, said deShazo, that would be a third of the population by 2030. The 10 states with the highest diabetes rates are all in the south.
Diabetes is one of the most problematic consequences of obesity, alon Continue reading

11 Best Low-Sugar Fruits

Watching your sugar intake is a good idea, but taming your sweet tooth can be an incredibly difficult feat. Perhaps you’ve already cut out processed sugars, but didn’t realize how much sugar is contained in fruit. Or maybe you live with diabetes and want to know which fruits will have the least impact on your blood sugar.
While fruit also contains lots of other healthy nutrients, some varieties are higher in sugar than others. Learn which fruits are lowest in sugar content so you can satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking the sugar bank.
1. Lemons (and limes)
High in vitamin C, lemons and their lime green counterparts are fairly sour fruits. They don’t contain much sugar (only a gram or two per lemon or lime) and are the perfect addition to a glass of water to help curb your appetite.
2. Raspberries
With only five grams — a bit more than a teaspoon — of sugar per cup, and lots of fiber to help fill you up, raspberries are one of several amazing berries to make the list.
3. Strawberries
Strawberries are surprisingly low in sugar considering they taste so sweet and delicious. One cup of raw strawberries has about seven grams of sugar, along with over 100 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
4. Blackberries
Blackberries also only have seven grams of sugar per cup. You don’t have to feel guilty snacking on these dark colored berries. As a bonus, they’re also high in antioxidants as well as fiber.
5. Kiwis
These odd fuzzy green-fleshed fruits are technically considered a berry too. Kiwis (or kiwifruits) are rich in vitamin C and low in sugar — Continue reading